Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 260 is again related to Liu Wentai and how to deal with the market strike!

"Your Majesty, I have read the medical records of Imperial Doctor Liu and there is nothing wrong with them. They are consistent with the symptoms of the eldest princess."

"Your Majesty, I have also read it. Doctor Liu's medical records are very accurate and his use of medicine is careful and sophisticated."

……

After the imperial physician named Liu took the initiative to ask for permission to examine the emperor's eldest daughter and wrote the medical record, the other imperial physicians all expressed their unanimous agreement.

Even the imperial physicians recruited from the public, such as Li Yanwen, agreed with this case.

After hearing this, Zhu Houcong asked the Imperial Pharmacy to prepare the medicine accordingly. At the same time, he also asked the Imperial Doctor Liu, "What is your name and what is your current position?"

"Your Majesty, I am Liu Yinghuai, a clerk in the Imperial Hospital."

Liu Yinghuai replied.

After hearing this, Zhu Houcong asked Liu Yinghuai, "Who is your teacher?"

"I learned this from my father Liu Wentai."

Liu Yinghuai replied calmly at this time.

But after hearing this, Zhu Houcong's pupils shrank sharply.

He knew that Liu Wentai was related to the deaths of both emperors!

among them.

Because Emperor Xianzong was not cured after taking Liu Wentai's medicine.

Liu Wentai was questioned by his ministers for his "obsessive-compulsive use of different prescriptions and inappropriate use of medicines", which led to the death of Emperor Xianzong, and they asked the new emperor Hongzhi to punish him.

However, because more ministers held the opinion that Emperor Xianzong's illness was caused by taking too many elixirs offered by Li Zisheng, especially the cabinet ministers at the time, Emperor Xiaozong did not punish Liu Wentai too harshly in the end, and even still trusted Liu Wentai very much.

The medical accident of Emperor Xiaozong was also related to Liu Wentai because Emperor Xiaozong trusted Liu Wentai very much. So when he was sick, he sent eunuch Zhang Yu to orally describe his symptoms to Liu Wentai and asked Liu Wentai to prescribe medicine. As a result, Emperor Xiaozong died not long after taking Liu Wentai's medicine.

As a result, some ministers at the time accused Liu Wentai of using medicine in an irregular and inconsistent manner, and not in line with the principles of traditional Chinese medicine, because it is unreasonable to prescribe medicine based solely on symptoms.

However, due to Emperor Xiaozong's own carelessness, Liu Wentai was only betrayed and exiled, where he died of old age in Guangxi.

Zhu Houcong was also unclear whether Liu Wentai really had the intention to kill the emperor, and whether the historical records were absolutely credible.

But Zhu Houcong did not expect that Liu Yinghuai could still stay in the Imperial Medical Service.

So Zhu Houcong asked Liu Yinghuai: "How did you get into the Imperial Hospital?"

At this time, Yang Li, the director of the Imperial Hospital who was standing beside Liu Yinghuai, replied, "Your Majesty, he was admitted through our examination."

Liu Yinghuai also bowed his head and replied, "Your Majesty, it is just as Envoy Yang said."

Although many doctors in the Ming Dynasty were hereditary, one did need to take an exam to become an imperial physician.

"Since you were admitted through examination, I won't say much for now, but you must know about the death of Doctor Zhou."

"And in this matter, you are the most suspicious!"

As Zhu Houcong spoke, he carefully observed the expressions of the imperial doctors.

Many of these imperial doctors became even more frightened and uneasy because of this, but there were also a few who remained very calm.

Zhu Houcong continued, "So, I still have to put you in the imperial prison, and I will release you only after the truth comes out!"

"Take them away and lock them up in the imperial prison!"

Zhu Houcong then waved to Zhang Tong.

"Yes!"

These imperial doctors were taken away by the Embroidered Uniform Guards.

Zhu Houcong then went to the imperial study.

Fei Hong, Wang Qiong and Wang Yangming happened to be here.

"You are all here!"

Zhu Houcong just smiled and said something, then half-lying on the couch, looking at the three people: "Something happened today, I need to let you know."

Fei Hong, Wang Qiong and Wang Yangming all looked at Zhu Houcong seriously.

"Doctor Zhou was poisoned to death!"

Although Zhu Houcong spoke very calmly, it was like a thunderclap in the ears of the ministers in the Imperial Study, making the three of them stunned and standing there without moving.

Zhu Houcong had no choice but to speak first: "This is against my life gate. Without Doctor Zhou, I will be more afraid of getting sick!"

"Your Majesty, don't worry too much."

"No one wants the world to be in chaos, and no one wants Your Majesty to be extinct again. Even if this person is dissatisfied with the new policy, or even dissatisfied with Your Majesty, he will not cause unrest in the world again because of his personal likes and dislikes."

Fei Hong then comforted Zhu Houcong.

He knew what the emperor meant by "coming to his vital point", so he also knew how to comfort him. And what he said was also true. The heir to the throne was still so young, and no one wanted to change the emperor at this time, turning the world into a world of doubt with a young ruler.

Although the landlord class is conservative and reactionary, they are not stupid. They know how important the stability of the country is. This is especially true for the scholars among the landlord class who are well-versed in history books and know what a chaotic world is like.

Zhu Houcong also nodded and said, "That being said, it is still unsettling without Doctor Zhou."

"Your Majesty is right. Now it seems that this matter must have been caused by the failure to cause a big disturbance with the nobles and relatives, and the powerful officials who were dissatisfied with the new banknotes and tariffs deliberately created unrest!"

Wang Yangming also followed suit and said, "Although this method is brilliant, it is also too despicable. Therefore, as long as your Majesty has a bright heart, there are righteous ways to break it!"

Zhu Houcong nodded.

"I think what the Grand Chancellor said is absolutely right. Doctor Zhou is not the only doctor in the world who is loyal to the emperor and loves the country! Of course, if there really is no doctor who is loyal to the emperor and loves the country, then there is even less need to be afraid. After all, Your Majesty is the ruler of the world. If you want to win the hearts of the people, in fact, it is easier to win the hearts of villains than to win the hearts of gentlemen."

"However, although there is no need to worry about this behavior affecting the safety of Your Majesty, it is likely to cause unrest in the harem. From the Empress Dowager to the two Empress Dowagers, knowing that their beloved sons and grandsons have been affected by the disputes of the previous dynasty, they will inevitably feel depressed and resentful."

"As the saying goes, a harmonious family is the root of everything. Your Majesty is the master of the country, so if there is no harmony in the royal family and the harem, the country will not be at peace."

Wang Qiong also expressed his own views at this time.

Zhu Houcong sat up, rubbing his knees with both hands, his expression slightly solemn: "That's why I said it was aimed at my vital point."

After that.

Zhu Houcong couldn't help but sigh slightly inwardly.

He had to admit that it was not easy to do something good for the people, or to reform the existing interest distribution pattern to redistribute it.

This is just an increase in cash tariffs, and it does not say that commercial taxes will be completely increased to completely take back the taxation power from local big businesses.

"Therefore, I believe that we should not be too hasty in governing!"

"In the past, when Emperor Shenzong of Song had just ascended the throne, he was about 20 years old and wanted to strengthen Zhao Song's military power. The then Prime Minister Fu Bi advised him not to talk about military affairs for 20 years."

"Your Majesty is not yet 20 years old, so there is no need to rush for success. Some things can be delayed, and everything should be accumulated first."

Fei Hong also started talking at this time.

Zhu Houcong smiled and said, "I am not in a hurry, but many of my people are. Many of them are still in dire straits. So the key to the current situation is whether I should treat my people as human beings!"

"Of course, this is beyond doubt. The sages have clearly said that the people are the most important. However, when it comes to actual practice, it is inevitable that we must prioritize and guide people step by step."

Fei Hongyan said.

Zhu Houcong nodded and asked Wang Qiong, who was in charge of the National Taxation Department, "How is the new tax policy of banknotes and customs duties going?"

Wang Qiong replied, "It's not very good. Because the nobles and relatives did not succeed in making a big fuss, the wealthy merchants with deep backgrounds tacitly chose to strike, as if they had agreed. As a result, fewer and fewer merchant ships passed through the customs, and the tax revenue was actually lower than before."

Fei Hong replied, "In addition, the governor of the grain transport, Wu Ting, reported that the increase in the tax on banknotes led to too much smuggling in the grain transport, which caused seven grain transport ships to capsize at once recently, causing countless casualties among the military and civilians, as well as heavy losses of grain and smuggled goods. One of the ships was carrying rice."

The grain transport in the Ming Dynasty has always been the responsibility of the officers and soldiers of the garrisons along the canal, who were called the transport troops.

However, the transportation of food and troop transports was designed as corvée labor, so there was no additional subsidy. Instead, the transporters had to bear their own travel expenses and even the cost of repairing the transport ships.

This also led to more and more troops fleeing, making it impossible for the canal transportation to proceed smoothly.

Therefore, the Ming Dynasty court began to allow the transport troops to subsidize their income by smuggling goods on grain ships when transporting grain. This prevented the transport troops from deserting on a large scale.

In fact, this was also a way for the Ming Dynasty court to sacrifice tax interests in order to allow the transport troops to obtain subsidies for transporting grain, thereby ensuring the grain transportation.

However, this method has a drawback: the Ming court did not know how much customs duty the transport troops had embezzled by smuggling goods, nor did it know how much additional grain tax would make the transport troops unwilling to transport grain even if they could smuggle goods. It was even less clear how the profits from smuggling were distributed among the transport troops.

In short.

Because the Ming Dynasty did not institutionalize and clarify the subsidy income for transporting troops, the emperor, the cabinet, and the ministers of the six ministries and nine departments were all unclear about the financial issues in this area.

Then, the emperor and the rulers relied on the established rules of grain transportation to maintain the operation of the empire.

Now, Fei Hong’s response is not surprising.

Obviously, it was the increase in paper tariffs that caused many wealthy businessmen to choose to have the transport troops smuggle more goods, resulting in overloading and capsizing. Of course, it is not ruled out that the wealthy people in the south deliberately let the grain ships capsize and sink.

The reason why it is said to be a big family in the south is that it is winter now, and the canal transportation in the northern section has frozen, and only the south can still use water transportation.

“Does the Cabinet have any plans to prepare for these situations?”

Zhu Houcong continued to ask.

Wang Qiong cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, the cabinet's strategy is to change official transportation to commercial transportation, and the court will directly pay to purchase grain in the capital, Tongzhou and other places."

"Excuse me for being blunt, but our bureaucrats are good at making money, but when it comes to doing business, they often turn it into robbery!"

"Whenever the transport troops brought in grain, the warehouse office would fill in the loss of grain at will, including the white grain. A eunuch in the inner court once added the loss of one stone of grain to two stones. So, even though the transport troops smuggled a lot of goods, the benefits of the smuggling did not reach the lower-level soldiers. Therefore, the number of deserters has begun to increase in recent years."

"Instead of doing this, it would be better to let merchants hire low-level transport troops to transport grain to Beijing, and then the Ministry of Revenue would directly pay for the grain. This would eliminate the malpractice of arbitrarily charging for losses and avoid smuggling."

Zhu Houcong smiled slightly after hearing this. He knew that Wang Qiong wanted to start the emergence of the grain transport gang in the Ming Dynasty, so he said, "It takes an extraordinary merchant to dare to undertake the task of transporting grain!"

(End of this chapter)